


Dare

by The_Inheritor



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Dare, Dare Gone Wrong, Jaal is worried about his taoshay, Liam too, Liam's Shenanigans, M/M, SCott is an idiot, Temporary Blindness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-06
Updated: 2019-09-06
Packaged: 2020-10-11 08:44:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20543348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Inheritor/pseuds/The_Inheritor
Summary: On a world with a toxic atmosphere, Scott takes his helmet off as a dare......It goes wrong.





	Dare

**Author's Note:**

> This may be a little OC, especially for Cora who just sort of stands there, lets it happen, then wonders off.  
Not my best Andromeda story, but it could be worse in all honesty. Hope some of you like it at least.  
I think Jaal is literally my favorite alien ever, I fucking love that guy, seriously!  
Written in iA Writer -- May contain errors, typos and word bugs (bzzz.)  
\---  
If you enjoy this story, Goody!  
Take Care Friends (^.^)/

**Dare**

_["This planet's atmosphere does not support oxygen, Pathfinder."]_ SAM repeats for about the 5th time since the conversation had started. _["If you remove your helmet, you will suffocate and die."]_  
  
"He can hold his breath!" Liam shouts, a huge smile on his face. "Honestly, if you do this I'll pay you double the amount I lost to Gil at poker last night."  
  
"Ryder! If you do this and end up dead...I'm gonna have SAM revive you so I can kill you again." Cora adds, she was less than impressed with what the two of them were planning. The last thing she wanted was to explain to Sara, never mind Jaal how the Pathfinder choked to death doing a dare.  
  
"Not if I hold my breath, right?" Scott asks, one eyebrow raised beneath his visor. "I mean, the oxygen isn't gonna get sucked outta my body or anything...is it?"   
  
_["No, that would require a vacuum."]_ SAM replies._ ["However I do not recommend it. If you breathed in just a small amount of the air, it could have untold side-effects."]_  
  
"A dare is a dare, SAM." Scott shrugs. "And I was a champion at diving back in my high-school days. I can hold my breath for days."   
  
"That's physically impossible!" Cora shouts. "Christ, Scott, are you actually gonna do this."  
  
"Ofcourse I am..." Scott looks at her with widening eyes. "Gil told me how much he got out of Liam...if I do this, then I'm buying drinks for everyone."  
  
_["You cannot enjoy alcoholic intake if you are dead, Scott."]_ SAM comments.  
  
"Or if you dampen it's effects -- AND don't lie to me...I know you do sometimes." Scott snips back playfully.  
  
_["Only because you have a habit of drinking during working hours."]_  
  
"Yeah Yeah, whatever...I'm doing this." Scott takes a deep breath in.  
  
"Scott!" Cora shouts as he reaches up and takes off his helmet. The air hisses out of it as he pulls it away from his face.  
  
He holds it down to his side, looking at her with a smug grin. Liam is unable to contain his laughter as he stands there, shrugging.  
  
"How long do you think you can hold it in for?" He asks, ignoring the outraged look he gets from Cora.  
  
Scott holds up his left hand, 3 fingers appearing, followed by a fourth one. He tilts his head in the "Probably" way too.  
  
"Is that minutes, or seconds?"  
  
Just a shake of the head for that one. He continues to stand there, looking between them. Liam asks him a few more questions, then opts to say stuff that could make him laugh. Probably a bad idea, but he can't help himself.  
  
"What are the poles doing in russia?" is his first one. When Scott tilts his head towards him, in what could be a quizzical fashion, he answers. "Holding up the telegraph wire."  
  
_["Pathfinder, I really do recommend-"]_ SAM is silenced mid-sentence by a raising of the finger. Liam figures Scott had told him to shut up inside his head. Good, he'd not even been a minute.  
  
"Alright, I got a better one."  
  
"Seriously!?" Cora huffs, before turning about and wondering off. "You know what, I'm heading back to the Nomad...call me if he passes out, or burns to death or something!"  
  
"I had this friend back in Crisis Response called Justin Thyme..." Liam comments with a half shrug. "Ironically he was always late."  
  
Scott blinks a few times at that one, a smirk appearing on his face, but nothing more. He blinks a couple more times, this time more rapidly. It's about now that SAM comments over their comms.  
  
_["Ryder, put your helmet back on immediately."]_ SAM says, if he had emotive tones, that would have been urgent, and perhaps a tad miffed. Surprisingly, Scott does as he's instructed, putting his helmet back on as if by command.  
  
As he does, and his helmet re-pressurizes, he let's out a pained grunt. "Ugh! My eyes...what the hell-"  
  
He looks around suddenly, hands coming outwards. "SAM! my visions gone all- I can't see!"  
  
"What?" Liam gasps through his breather. "Shit! I didn't know it would blind you!"  
  
_["That is precisely what I was trying to warn him about."]_ SAM adds, to the Pathfinder's increasing panic.  
  
"I can't see! Fuck! I'm blind!" he shouts, loosing his footing. Liam grabs hold of him, helping him to stand up right.  
  
"Alright." he says, a wash of guilt coming over him. "Come on, I'll get you back to the Nomad."  


* * *

SOME TIME LATER - ABOARD THE TEMPEST

* * *

  
  
"You really are stupid sometimes..." Jaal says, irritated as he stands next to the bed. Lexi was standing just in-front of him, using an ancient looking eye-dropper to apply some strange coloured liquid to the Pathfinder's eyes. "...Both of you."  
  
He glares at Liam who had been quiet since they came in. Cora was giving him much the same look on the ride back. "Sorry..."  
  
"Sorry doesn't cut it." Lexi says, even she was angered, ofcourse she was. "That stupid dare could have cost him his eye-sight."   
  
"I still can't see here." Scott says, he'd been quiet too since they returned, but that wasn't like him. It was like loosing his sight had subdued him. "...Fuck that stings!"   
  
"Good." Jaal comments. "You deserve it after that."  
  
"Did Lexi put you up to this?" Scott asks, blinking a few times as the Asari Doctor steps back and turns, moving across the med-bay. "Usually you're forgiving of my stupidity."  
  
"Only when it proves to be ultimately harmless!" Jaal snaps, stepping forwards and hitting him hard on the arm. "Now you could be blinded! Lost in the dark forever!"  
  
Liam flinches by the door, he knew that his anger was directed as much at him as Scott. Hopefully he wouldn't corner him when they left, but knowing Jaal he just might. The Angara was very open with his thoughts on things.  
  
Not that he'd complain if he received a sore arm, or a black eye. Frankly he felt like he deserved it.  
  
"Actually..." Scott rubs at his arm, it was going to bruise. Jaal could hit hard. "I think-...I think I'm seeing something."  
  
"That's good." Lexi returns from the other side of the room. "It means the retinal damage was minimal, if none. Your eye sight should return soon."  
  
_["I will assist in repairing any damage I can."]_ SAM comments, warranting a nod of acknowledgement from Lexi. _["I will also make sure that the Pathfinder's helmet seals cannot be broken next time we are on JM53L or similar worlds."]_  
  
Lexi lowers her Omni-Tool with a shake of her head and an aged sigh. "You know, It always amazes me how childish you can both be for grown men."  
  
"My Dad used to say you aren't fully mature until you're in your 60s" Scott says, blinking some more. He was definitely seeing something, a light forming in the cones of his vision. Blurry, almost misty patterns that were slowly getting more and more intense by the second.   
  
"He was only 57." Lexi comments. "So I guess his stunt on Habitat 7 wasn't mature either."   
  
"You're telling me." Liam looks up at them all. "He died because Scott couldn't breathe. I guess I should have taken that as a warning."  
  
"Yes." Jaal says coldly. "You should have."  
  
"There's nothing wrong with you Liam." Lexi says, looking his way. "I suggest you go and de-brief with Cora."  
  
"Don't let her give you another mouthful." Scott says, unaware that he'd left without a word.  
  
"That should be about another three quarters of an hour." Lexi nods a she looks at her scans. "Now, I need to go and speak with Harry and get your records Nexus side updated...Jaal? Would you stay with him."  
  
"With pleasure." Jaal says, nodding to her.   
  
Once she's gone and it's just him, his taoshay and SAM, he steps forwards and takes a hold of Scott by the hand. The Pathfinder's fingers instinctively curl tighter to him, though being blind might be having that effect.  
  
"Is this the part where you give me a lecture on being stupid." Scott asks, looking in his general direction, he had tears streaking down his cheeks, but they weren't from crying, namely the drops Lexi had given him, and the irritation of his eyes in general. He chuckles, something Jaal wasn't expecting. "I'm gonna have bruise on my arm from that y'know."   
  
"You still deserve it." Jaal says, he was still annoyed, but now that they were alone he softened his tone some. "What were you thinking? Ignoring SAMs warnings...and doing something so...moronic?"  
  
"I honestly don't know." Scott shrugs with a huff. "I guess as someone who grew up doing dares for his twin sister it's hard to resist a challenge. Sara would have done the same thing too, I can bet you my non-existent payroll on that."  
  
_["Scott..."]_ SAM says inside his head, the AI could see the Angara's facial reaction, he couldn't. He takes that as his cue to say something worth while for the moment.  
  
"Look, it was stupid, I know." he mutters. "And I'll probably need glasses or something after this."  
  
"Glasses?" the Angara asks suddenly, it brings a smile to Scott's face. From Concerned to Curious in an instant. "I thought you drank out of those?"   
  
"If this doesn't go completely to plan, you'll find out what they are-" He shakes his head. "-Look, This WAS stupid, I should have been more...mature. I'm sorry."   
  
"Just..." Jaal falters on his words for a moment. "...Don't do anything like that again. Please."  
  
"Yeah..." Scott lowers his head, blinking some more. "I guess if I had lost my sight completely I'd never have been able to see your face again...you're my favorite shade of pink."  
  
"Sara has found some...Lip-Stick...that is a very similar colour." Jaal adds, amusement creeping into his tone. "She promised me she'd kiss Gil...."  
  
"Why would she do that?" Scott looks his way. It was probably his imagination, but he was certain the misty anomalies he was experiencing were turning slightly pink...perhaps even a shade of light blue.  
  
"Liam and I have a bet..." Jaal explains. "We want to see if he'll just accept it, or fight her off."  
  
"What was that about being stupid?" The Pathfinder asks. "You try fighting my sister, you'll end up in here like me."  
  
"The worst he'll end up with is wounded pride." Jaal snips back playfully. "She cares about him too much."  
  
"Ultimately harmless..." Scott chuckles. "Yeah...I guess you're right."  
  
\---  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> -Lexi using eyedrops to cure blindness....yeah totally not a terrible plothole that leads into a future story about Glasses...  
...a future story that I may or may not be writing with now...-nudge nudge- -wink wink-  
\- Perhaps I should have had a reconcilliation scene with Liam afterwards, sorta felt bad leaving him feeling bad over this. I literally adore everyone on the Tempest...it's not even funny.  
\- Sara kissing Gil!? What the actual fuck!? THIS IS SO OUT OF CHARACTER, STARS ABOVE!  
\---  
See you in the next one (^.^)


End file.
